


Exhibition

by Allison_Goodfellow



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Drabble, Gen, Inspired by Art, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:33:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29210424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allison_Goodfellow/pseuds/Allison_Goodfellow
Summary: An exhibition by an unknown artist has recently opened in the city. Only one person can get in and see all the artwork.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Exhibition

**Author's Note:**

> artist: geee13, https://geee13.tumblr.com/

An exhibition opened in Mitakihara.

The city was famous for its museums and art galleries. Its streets and neighbourhoods held more secrets than could be gathered from all over the world. The city, shrouded in mystery, was beloved by witches who bestowed their kisses of death, prompting people to do terrible things. When the time came, the Heavenly Quintet, the five girls guarding the peace and lives of the citizens of Mitakihara, gave their own for salvation.

All but one.

Every day after school, Madoka walked home the way she had long known. First cross the bridge, turn left, walk to the bus stop and take the bus, walk two blocks away from home, stop at the shop for a melon bun or ramune and walk leisurely down the street, admiring the sunset. Madoka could stay in school if she was a member of some club, she could go to the mall with her best friend, picking out a cute dress or hairclips, and sit in a cafe afterwards to discuss plans for the weekend. But she had no friends, although everyone in her class treated her well. There were friends. Madoka had forgotten them. She had forgotten everything after Walpurgis Night.

Three bells ringing, two shots fired.

At night she dreams of the battle. As if she stands alone on the ruins of the once dear city and sees a girl bleeding. She whispers frantically: "Stop... Surrender... You don't have to sacrifice yourself!" Why is she saying this? Why does her dark hair and amethyst-coloured eyes, even in the crimson of the blood, shine so bright in the sun? During the day, dim memories flashed in her mind now and then, made up of someone else's images. This girl was familiar to her. Madoka is sure she even knows her name... she just can't remember... Waking up in a cold sweat, little Kaname cries into her pillow because she doesn't understand her feelings. She was everyone's hope. She became a disappointment. She was loved by someone. She is responsible for the death of this girl who is bleeding to death. It torments her heart and there is no escaping it.

Call and announcement at five o'clock.

Classes were over, which meant going to the exhibition. At the gallery, Madoka followed the map, because there was a good chance of getting lost amidst the madness of the paintings and the grandeur of the mysterious figures. At first her gaze fell on 'Nightmares'. Sitting on the spreading branches of a dry tree, strange creatures, either cats or birds, were eager to attack. Their eyes were the only bright spots in the darkness. The shapeless, sometimes ugly creatures frightened the girl, but she was brave enough to look at them with a smile. She might have seen creatures like these in her dreams as well as in reality. Black crows are a symbol of death and evil, his way of being out of touch with the world and people, because he brings justice to them. The black cat is not only freedom, but also the sacrifice Kaname had to make. Who knows if even Madoka herself doesn't remember it.

Stairs and notes.

In the depths of the sea rests the one who sacrificed herself in the name of love. Unrequited love. This despair consumed her and she turned into a witch. Only the violin sometimes reminds her of how painful it is to love and be rejected. Octavia von Sekendorf. This name tells Madoka nothing, and neither does Miki Sayaka. Madoka only sees what she wants. What she is allowed to. A mermaid-like witch whose tail shimmers under the artificial light, a satin scarlet ribbon on her belt, alto and bass-key jewellery in her water-like blue hair, and a sabre with a pointed blade. Behind the glass, Madoka sees more than that. She wanted to see more. She believes every word on the stand, not even noticing the deception. Believes in a beautiful legend.

Madoka is in pain. Her sincere tears drip onto the floor as her hand gently touches the glass. She hears Octavia crying, hears her calling her name, but Madoka does not remember that she went to school with Sayaka every day, how they ate lunch on the roof, watching the birds. Her sadness slowly fades and sinks into this abyss, taking with it the distant echoes of a forgotten past. Miki Sayaka does not exist. She cannot exist. Once you die in the guise of a witch, you disappear forever. Madoka knew this... but let her be killed to save herself.

A turn, a steel door.

In this room are collected phials, the so-called Seeds of Sorrow. Precious fragments of the souls of fallen magicians. Madoka opens the racks, takes each fragile fragment in her hand and looks at it through the prism of light. Inside the phial, it is as if the northern lights are painting with their colours in the void. What is Madoka trying to see in them? Maybe herself? When she became a magician she herself became a witch, and her name was Krimhild Gretchen. A clot of darkness, an embodiment of her own despair. The downside of a goddess.

Every vial has a tag with the owner's name on it. Here is Mami Tomoe's Seed of Sorrow, here a certain Kyoko Sakura. The former was killed by Charlotte, who managed to defeat the quintet's kindest and brightest magician. The witch bit her head off in front of Madoka. Mami must have had a moment to escape death. Perhaps Madoka could have saved her... if she hadn't been there. Mami fought for Madoka and paid for her life with her own. Kyoko Sakura died along with Miki Sayaka. Turning into Ophelia, a halberd-armed warrior on horseback, she stayed with Octavia, sparing her the loneliness of death. These girls did not die in vain, for they fulfilled their deepest desires.

Madoka looks at the altered Gems of the soul and does not even try to remember that these girls once fought hand in hand with her. Behind the steel archive door the fragile phials remain intact, as do her sealed memories. Madoka continues in a trembling voice to repeat the names of the two magicians, who will be forgotten as soon as she leaves the gallery.

Main Hall.

A sculpture sharpened in a glass prism captures Madoka's attention. A girl in an opulent black dress adorned with lace and purple ribbons kneels awaiting her sentence. Her shackled hands are stripped of flesh, only her bones resting neatly on the white hem, and a spider lily the colour of freshly spilt blood blooms in place of her face. "Homulilly". That's the girl's name. A name with the meaning of 'flame' comes to mind... Homura. Akemi Homura. That girl from Madoka's dreams.

[- Please go back in time, Homura... Don't let him fool me...  
\- I promise I'll do anything.  
\- Stop me if I want to become a sorceress...]

Homura made a contract to bring back her precious friend, but even her ability - to control time - could not change the events of the past and their consequences. And so for eight years. Over the years, Madoka has gained the power of a god-like god and defeated her greatest enemy, Walpurgis Night. Kaname had to disappear, and then only Homura would be left. Alone once more in this world, doomed to perdition. Madokami was benevolent and granted another wish for Homura. Madoka would live in a world without witches and sorceresses. She would remember nothing and no one. And so it happened.

Madoka looks at Homuli and an inexplicable desire arises in her heart to save the girl from her shackles. She hears a whisper behind the glass, "I could not save you... forgive me...". Madoka cries unable to say anything. She does not understand Homulilly, cannot explain her feelings as well as her own. More than love. Deeper than despair. Madoka can stand beside the sculpture for a long time, peering into every detail, into every word of the story of Homulilly. The art world remains a mystery to Madoka, though she herself has become part of it.

It is late evening and the lanterns are shining.

Madoka returns home as if nothing had happened. She no longer remembers the paintings and sculptures she saw about an hour ago. Everything is forgotten because Homura once wished it so. These images are only alive in little Kaname's dreams, and fragments of memories return to her in the gallery, which serves as a place where her two lives intersect. There she regains a once lost link.

An exhibition has opened in Mitakihara.

Madoka goes there again to find answers. And so it goes day by day. She isn't meant to remember everything, but she can't forget it either.


End file.
